Countdown to Art Forum Berlin 2002
ART FORUM
BERLIN 2002
The International Fair for Contemporary Art
September 26 – 30, 2002
Preview: Wednesday, September 25, 2002
Countdown to ART FORUM BERLN 2002
In just one week from now, the seventh ART FORUM BERLIN, The
International
Fair for Contemporary Art, will open to the public. Enlivening Europe’s
most dynamic art destination each autumn, ART FORUM BERLIN 2002
will host
155 galleries from 25 countries. With a continuing focus on cutting edge
galleries, emerging production and contemporary art from Eastern Europe,
this year’s fair promises to offer a highly stimulating selection of
today’s most exciting and relevant production.
Europe’s only large fair to focus solely on contemporary artwork, the
great attraction of this unique event for international collectors and
curators from around the globe is continuously reinforced by exhibitors
and visitors alike. A hot-spot for collectors and curators, exhibitor
response is extremely positive: A fantastic amount of foreign
curators and
German collectors. A very good showcase for young artists, states
Galerie
K of Oslo. Berlin has evolved to be the most important fair in Europe
along with Basel, claims Mikael Andersen of Copenhagen.
ART FORUM BERLIN is set against the backdrop of one of Europe’s
fastest
growing and most exciting international centers for contemporary art.
Aside from the impressive quality of the fair itself and all of its
accompanying events and receptions, numerous other parallel exhibitions
assist in making ART FORUM BERLIN a necessary destination for
those who
are sincerely interested in keeping abreast of the latest trends in the
international art scene.
In addition to the many galleries returning for a repeat visit to ART
FORUM BERLIN – including Peter Kilchmann of Zurich, Helga de Alvear
of
Madrid, Andréhn-Schiptjenko of Stockholm, Nicolai Wallner of
Copenhagen,
Collective Gallery of Edinburgh, Entwistle of London, Fons Welters of
Amsterdam, Johnen + Schöttle of Cologne and Pierogi 2000 of New York,
among others – there will also be many new exhibitors to discover.
Newcomers this year include Susanne Ottesen of Copenhagen, Catriona
Jeffries of Vancouver, kurimanzutto of Mexico City, Johann Koenig of
Berlin and Susanne Vielmetter of Los Angeles.
A significantly rising number of younger galleries from Russia and other
Eastern European nations will also be at the fair, confirming Berlin’s
key
role in expanding the contemporary art market in stride with the
changing
times. Galleries from Eastern Europe exhibiting at ART FORUM
BERLIN for
the first time include Skuc of Ljubljana, Déak of Budapest, Priestor
of
Bratislava, D 137 of St. Petersburg and ESCAPE, OGI and VP-Studio, all
of
Moscow. Returning galleries from Eastern Europe include Aidan and XL of
Moscow as well as Foksal of Warsaw, Jiri Svestka of Prague and Knoll of
Budapest and Vienna and Zderzak of Krakow.
The hallmark shared international booths at ART FORUM BERLIN have
always
been a highlight, allowing exhibitors to compliment the best of one
another’s programs by creating extended presentations in collaboration.
This year the fair will boast shared stands by neugerriemschneider
(Berlin) with Friedrich Petzel (New York), Barbara Thumm (Berlin) with
Frith Street Gallery (London), Thomas Schulte (Berlin) with Lisson
Gallery
(London), carlier/gebauer (Berlin) with Anthony Reynolds (London), Luis
Campana (Cologne) with Konrad Fischer (Düsseldorf), and Galerie Neu
(Berlin) with American Fine Arts and Greene Naftali (both, New York).
In addition to the fascinating selection of gallery installations,
ART
FORUM BERLIN also presents visitors to the fair with a rich
selection of
panel discussions featuring international guest speakers on themes
relevant to contemporary art discourse and cultural politics. This year,
nine different panel discussions will offer a wide view on the most
recent
developments from Mexico to Turin via Budapest, Berlin and London. Begun
in 2000, a special series of discussions on the art and cultural scenes
of
Eastern European candidates for entrance into the EU will continue this
year with an emphasis on Hungary. In the line-up of Talk events, From
Blast to Frieze to YBA also promises to be a highlight. Andrew
Wilson,
Gijs van Tuyl, Mark Gisbourne, Jörg Heiser and Charlotte Mullins will
illuminate the question of the development of British art in the 20th
century from an outsiders position to that of a market determiner.
The indispensable ART FORUM BERLIN 2002 catalogue features essays
from
four prominent writers on the developing art markets of Hungary, the
Czech
Republic, Russia and Poland respectively.
Not to be missed in 2002, ART FORUM BERLIN continues to gain in
both
significance and momentum. Be there to catch this jewel of the season.
For further information, go to www.art-forum-berlin.com